The present invention relates to a novel side puller accessory frame for the pulling of loads by a car carrier 8 or tow truck from a point behind and in close proximity to a cab of the carrier or truck. The invention could also be used with other vehicles. The side puller accessory frame has an accessory frame mounting that mounts the accessory frame to a vehicle frame behind a cab and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A vehicle equipped with the side puller accessory frame may function as a recovery apparatus. The accessory frame includes a powered winch that is equipped with a suitable line, preferably a wire rope, to permit the pulling of a load or loads such as wrecked cars from accidents and other objects towards the sides of the recovery apparatus as well as towards the rear.
The accessory frame preferably includes two manually actuated nesting legs, a wire rope winch fixed to the accessory frame mounting near the center of the accessory frame with the winch transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The winch provides pulling force via a removable pivotable center sheave mounted in a center sheave mounting tube through a top horizontal frame tube. The center sheave directs the pulling force to the sides or rear of the truck as desired or as rigged by a recovery technician, driver, or other user. The accessory frame may include a removable pivotable side sheave mounted in a side sheave mounting tube. The side puller accessory frame increases the value of a conventional car carrier with a roll back bed by making the carrier into a versatile recovery truck.
When a conventional tow truck limited to pulling along the longitudinal axis of the truck recovers a load (often a wrecked motor vehicle) from off the road, the tow truck often must use more than one lane of traffic. The instant accessory frame, when mounted to a car carrier with a rollback bed, allows the car carrier to be used as a recovery apparatus. The accessory frame gives the carrier an advantage over the conventional tow truck, the capacity to recover over the side of the carrier while taking up at most one lane of traffic.